Ryan Tannehill Actually Does Make Sense for the Miami Dolphins

As many of you know, I have not been in favor of the Miami Dolphins drafting Texas A&M quarterback prospect Ryan Tannehill with their first round pick in the draft this year.

Well, I have since changed my mind. A friend of mine started to convince me that he has a lot of potential and recommended that I watch his tape again. So I did, and I have to say, Ryan Tannehill is actually pretty darn good. My biggest concern with Tannehill was his knack to fade away late in games, and I also questioned his decision making abilities. I'll divide this up into two separate sections so it's easier to read (I've been told I don't split up my thoughts well enough, so let me know if this works better).


1. Late Game Problems?

What I saw as Tannehill fading away late in games wasn't entirely his fault. It was actually people around him on Texas A&M fading away and putting him in tough positions. I'm sure that by know you know how bad Tannehill's receivers were. I watched Texas A&M's bowl game against Northwestern last season, and Tannehill's receivers dropped six passes by my count. It can be a serious momentum killer when a player drops a pass in a drive. In the NFL Tannehill won't really have to worry about receivers dropping his passes. He will have professional receivers who actually have good hands.

When a team isn't really able to do anything late in games I tend to place most of the blame on the quarterback, and I still stand by that. The quarterback needs to be the one who can step up when things aren't looking so good. A quarterback needs to be able to take the reins and put the team back on the winning track. But with Tannehill it wasn't completely his fault. He played well late in games. Not great, but well enough to not warrant a huge concern.


2. Decision Making

Tannehill's decision making really isn't that bad. I will admit my mistake here. I was too quick to just assume that he wasn't a great decision maker. I've watched his film. He makes a few bad decisions each game, but he's by no means a bad decision maker.

Actually, when you factor in that he was a wide receiver as a freshman, sophomore, and a little during his junior year you begin to appreciate how much he has developed already. His potential is very high. If he is properly developed I think he can be a great quarterback. One thing I noticed is that he is especially great throwing on the run. He makes good decisions and is right on point with his passes.



Would he fit in Miami?

That is the big question that we are all concerned about here. Would he work well with the Miami Dolphins?

Actually, I think the Dolphins would be the best possible fit for Tannehill. We have Mike Sherman as our offensive coordinator, who was his head coach during his entire career at Texas A&M except for his freshman year when he was redshirted. The two already know each other well, which would be an advantage.

Tannehill is also a great fit because he would do well in a west coast offense. He is a great passer on the run, he is very accurate, and he has already been taught the offense by Mike Sherman.


What should the Miami Dolphins do to get him?

I am a firm believer that Miami shouldn't trade up to get him unless they won't have to give up a lot (which isn't likely). I would be happy if they drafted him eighth overall. It might be a little high, which is something that I argued before, but you know what? It's not like they have a pick later in the first round that they can use instead. I'm starting to think that we look too much at value and not enough at individual team situations. If the Dolphins want Tannehill and don't think that they can get him in the second round then they should get him in the first.


Thank you guys for stopping by. Let me know what you think.

Feel free to email me at paul@dolphinshout.com or follow me on twitter @PaulDSmythe.

Want to watch some film on Ryan Tannehill? Here is a collection of videos.